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Potential Genotoxicity of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants and Phytochemicals: An Overview
Author(s) -
Zhou Jue,
Ouedraogo Moustapha,
Qu Fan,
Duez Pierre
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.4942
Subject(s) - genotoxicity , pharmacovigilance , traditional medicine , medicine , toxicity , pharmacology , toxicology , adverse effect , biology
In the last decades, cases of poisoning due to herbal medicines have occurred in many countries; Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are occasionally involved. The experience gained from traditional use is efficient to detect immediate or near‐immediate relationship between administration and toxic effects but is quite unlikely to detect medium‐ to long‐term toxicities; thorough investigations of herbal medicines (toxicity assessments, active pharmacovigilance) appear then essential for their safe use. Genotoxicity is an especially insidious toxicity that may result in carcinoma development years after exposure; it can arise from multiple compounds, with or without metabolic activation. The present work reviews traditional CHMs and phytochemicals that have been shown to present a genotoxic hazard. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.